Playing Dante: Welcome to Hell
by Raine Kageichi
Summary: Raine Kageichi is glad that its finally summer but a deal from her past comes collecting. The only one who can save her is a child hood friend who will have to fight through hell to get her back. This is completely my story crossed with mythology.
1. Chapter 1

Playing Dante

Prologue: Welcome to Hell

Raine aimlessly strolled through the ancient towering trees, enjoying the glowing sunlight. A cool breeze drafted through the park plucking a few strands of hair out of her loose ponytail. She leaned back against a cedar tree by the park's entrance, seating herself on a gnarled root.

A small smile graced her features as she remembered the previous day's occurrences.

"_Ow!" Ray yelled, "Darn it, Raine! You hit hard!" _

"_Yeah, Mr Chauvanist, you'd better believe it! Now what were you saying about the _

_strength of males being superior?" she replied, arching an eyebrow._

"_What? It's a fact neko-chan- OW!" he yelped as Raine retaliated with a not-so-gentle "tap" to the back of his head._

"_Theory__, Ray, there's a difference! And how many times have I told you not to call me neko-chan, panda boy?" _

"_Well I have yet to see the theory disproved," he grumbled, immediately regretting it. A dangerous glint appeared in her eyes, "OK, then meet me at this tree tomorrow, 6am sharp!"_  
><em> "W-w-wait, Raine! I was just joking! I-!" <em>  
><em> "Aww, are you scared?" she taunted, smiling like the Cheshire cat. <em>  
><em> "N-n-no... Aw, forget it! It's on!" he yelled, giving an enthusiastic fist pump, like one would in a manga.<em>  
><em> "Great! Have fun waking up early!" she said. her voice dripping with false cheerfulness.<em>

"Dammit! Where did that idiot go now?" she muttered. "I was totally going to cream him at sparring today!" She watched the cars haltingly rumble forward on the bustling street, scanning faces of the pedestrians sauntering down the crosswalk. "Baka! He's ten minutes late! What has that idiot got himself into now?"

She watched an old man stumble across the street leaning heavily in to his wooden cane. His jaw was clenched in pain as he limped slowly across the crosswalk. A gaudy yellow car vehemently beeped the horn.

"Hey Gramps! Move it or lose it!" the boys yelled.

Raine glared at them as they revved the engine, their raucousness laughter resonating through the park.

"Zip it!" she shot back, sprinting over to help him and leading safely toward the sidewalk. As the duo neared the curb, the driver, who had obviously miscalculated the distance between his car and the two pedestrian hit the accelerator. Through her peripheral vision Raine watched the car lurch forward.

"Watch out!" she yelled, shoving the old man onto the sidewalk. The car slammed in to her, knocking her forward, her head smashing in to the asphalt road.

"Aww, crud!" she groaned, the world dimming like a theatrical light set, till nothing but darkness remained.

Raine sat up drowsily, pushing a few strands of midnight hair out of her eyes.

"What in God's name just happened?" she muttered, glancing around. Her head was pounding worse than the time she'd made the mistake of ticking off a gang of drunkards. She'd won in the end, but the jerks caught her of guard and grazed her head with a beer bottle.

She was sitting in the center of a theater stage. Rows of battered old seats surrounded the stage, empty and covered in dust. Gothic art was painted on the walls and ceilings, the paint peeling off the walls. The air around her felt heavy as though inhabited by a dark presence.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't use the G-word, m'dear. This is hell, you know," a scratchy voice murmured, like the ones that were in horror movies.

"Who's there, jerk? Come on! At least come out like a man and fight me, coward!" She began bouncing on the balls of her feet, and winced as the pain magnified. That was definitely not one of her smarter ideas.

"Relax, m'dear. It's just old Lucifer here with you, at the edge of purgatory," replied the old voice chuckling. Stepping out of the shadows, was the old man she had saved from the park.

"What the fu- shi- cra- BALONEY! What the hell are you doing here?" She yelled, glaring accusingly at the old man. "And where are we?"

"I just told you, m'dear we're in hell, or at least one of the nicer parts of it." he said, chucking darkly.

"Yeah right and I'm the flippin' Easter bunny!" she shot back. "Damn it, either you give me a straight answer or I will kick your butt to the moon and back!"

"That was a straight answer, m'dear. Your audacity will get you killed someday."

"Augh! God damn it!"

"What part of don't use the G-word don't you understand?"

"Shut the fu-! You know what? Forget it." Raine hissed under her breath, trying to control her temper.

"Ah, typical. You're still in denial, little girl."

"Denial? Of what?"

"Oh that's right, you don't remember," he chuckled darkly. "Oh well, let's have a little memory refresher. I am Lucifer," he said, striking his cane on the floor. Instantaneously it was morphed into an jet black trident. His teeth and nails grew longer, skin blistering and turning the color of freshly spilt blood. "And you my dear, are in hell!"

"What am I doing here, exactly?" she replied, with a sceptical look.

"Well, m'dear, technically you're dead, and-"

"Technically?"

"Let me get straight to the point, six years, six months, and six days ago, you struck a deal with someone. Ring a bell?" he questioned, an expectant look on his face.

"Not really, something to do with bubblegum and racing, right?" she replied, with a sceptical look.

"No, you stupid girl! The accident, the car accident!" he bellowed, accenting his remarks with the slam of his trident.

"Oh yeah! Our moms were out shopping, so Ray and I decided to race to the store and whoever won got the last piece of bubblegum." She wrinkled her brow, "Can't remember much else though. We ran across the street and Ray pushed me onto the sidewalk, he almost got hit but..."

"Curse humans and their feeble minds!" he bellowed. Slamming the trident on the floor, the theater faded away, replaced by another reality.

The suburbs of Cherry Hill stood straight and new, a nine year old girl with dark hair ran alongside a blond boy. The two were fitfully giggling running through the streets and down the sidewalks.

"Hey neko-chan!" the boy called out to her as she passed him, sprinting like the wind.

The girl scrunched up her face, "My name is Raine, Ray, not neko-chan!"

The boy laughed, catching up to her. "I know neko-chan! But you're so much like a kitty, you're cute and your hair is so soft!"

She wrinkled her brow in irritation, "Kitties have claws too!" she threatened, her face thoughtful for a moment. "Fine! If you can call me neko-chan, I get to call you panda-chan!"

The boy blanched in horror, "No way! Why can't you make it something tough, like a tiger or something?"

"Panda-chan, I'm tougher than you!" she said, flexing her arms. "Anyway pandas look like bears, so at first people think they're threatening. But really when you know them, they're soft cute teddy bears!" she finished, giggling.

"B-b-but, I'M NOT A TEDDY BEAR!" he yelled indignantly.

The girl leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek, "Keep telling yourself that panda-chan!" A devilish smirk grew on her face, "Race you to the store, panda-chan!"

"Hey, wait up! Fine, but if I beat you there I'm stealing your gum!"

The duo tore up the sidewalk, grown-ups shaking their heads and the sheer ridiculousness of the two. Head to head they sprinted across the bustling street, laughing like no tomorrow. However, a car whizzed towards them as they approached the road, disregarding the stop sign.

Ray's eyes widened, "Neko-chan, watch out!" he screamed, shoving her forward as the car slammed mercilessly into him. Ray was slammed into the asphalt, limp as a rag doll.

The car stopped abruptly, and the driver walked out, slamming the car door. "What's your problem, you stupid kids! If there's a scratch on my car. you'll pay!"

"Ray! Wake up! Please wake up!" she cried, shaking him. Pedestrians gathered around them, not interfering but murmuring quietly amongst themselves. A few people called the ambulance, the worry in their voices evident.

"Hey, stupid girl! I'm talkin' to ya!" he yelled, yanking her shoulder forcing her to face him. "Your stupid friend got in the way! Hey kid!" he yelled, reaching out to the unconscious boy behind her.

Right then, she could swear she felt pure hate coursing through her veins. Every pore in her body screamed to retaliate against the man, who had the _nerve _to hit _her_ best friend with his car, and NOT care. Before she even realized what was happening she swung her fist at his head, landing a real hay-maker. As he recovered from the shock she slammed a snap kick into his groin. Though her sensei at the dojo told her such moves were dishonorable, seeing as it was a truly below the belt strike, she didn't care. This man would pay! Before she could continue, something, or more correctly someone, had grabbed her around the waist.

"Raine," her mother cooed soothingly, "Relax. Ray will be alright." All at once the rage became tears as she saw paramedics lift her friend's limp body onto a gurney and carted him into the back of the ambulance. She ran after Ray's mom who grasped her son's hand, sobbing uncontrollably. _This is my fault,_ she thought,_ I should have gotten hit, not him._ Before anyone could stop her she scampered into the car after Ray's mother and hugged her tightly.

"I have to go to," she begged softly. "_Please."_

Seeing the desperation in her eyes, she felt pity for the little girl, or possibly felt obligated to comply. "Luna, you can follow us, ok?" she called to Raine's mother. "I promise I'll take care of her." Her mother simply nodded and the ambulance sped off towards the hospital, sirens blaring.

Raine, hated the antiseptic smell of hospitals, as well as their whiteness, and cleanliness. However, she refused to move from her chair where her best friend lay. Not even her mother could deter her form staying, finally resolving to sit and wait for Raine in the waiting room. Four hours of sitting by Ray who remained in a coma and her stomach began to growl. A rather concerned nurse with her hazel hair knotted in a tight bun came in, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You know sweetie, you should go eat. We'll tell you if he wakes up." Her blue eyes were filled with sorrow and pity, patting Raine's shoulder gently.

"Nu-uh," she replied stubbornly, "Not hungry." Her stomach growled loudly, it felt like a life time since she had eaten.  
>The nurse chuckled gently, "Now, now, sweetie. Don't lie, it'll do you good."<br>"Ray's probably hungry too," she shot back cheekily. "He ain't eaten since I have." Her stomach gave a louder more painful growl.  
>"But Ray here is being given nutrients through this needle," she said, gesturing at the one of the various IVs surrounding him." She hoped that would deter the little girl.<br>Raine swallowed painfully, and then held out her wrists. "OK, do it to me too."  
>The nurse sighed, "Sweetheart it doesn't work like that..." she trailed off.<br>"Well, I don't care, I'm not leaving!" she shot back, crossing her arms.  
>"You're a stubborn one, aren't you? Well then..." the nurse turned and walked out of the room leaving Raine to gaze at her blood caked best friend. She reached over and gripped his clammy hand, praying to every deity she knew. <em>Please, don't let him die, please don't let him die,<em> she chanted in her head, tears pricking her eyes.

The clacking sound of someone approaching, caused her to loosen her grip and hastily wipe the tears from her eyes. The nurse had returned with a plate of food, placing it in front of the starving girl, she handed Raine a plastic fork. Needing no permission, Raine chowed down on the food, polishing off the chicken, rice, and even the vegetables in record timing. As she remembered to breathe again, she look up at the nurse, who had a small smirk, crossing her face.

"Told you so," she chimed to Raine, patting her on the head.  
>"Thanks, Miss..?"<br>"Iris, don't mention it." She sat down in the chair next to Raine, who was currently looking away, tears pricking her eyes again. "Why are you so bent at staying here anyway?" Iris inquired, "His family already left."  
>Raine covered her face and tears slipped down her cheeks. "I was the one who should have got hit, he pushed me out of the way."<br>"Sweetie, it's not your fault," Iris consoled, trying to assuage her pain.  
>"You know Miss Iris," Raine said softly, "There will be very few people who will stand by you regardless of what happens. My daddy told me those are the people you should protect with everything you've got, not matter what happens." She began sobbing, "B-b-but w-w-hy couldn't I s-s-save him?"<br>The nurse looked at her sadly, "He'll be fine sweetheart don't worry."


	2. Chapter 2

Back in the present, Ray awoke with a start, the early morning sun already streaming through his window. His laundry was ankle deep and empty chip bags littered the floor. He sighed, if Raine saw him now, she would almost certainly throttle him.

"_You're a young man, not a pig, this place isn't even clean enough for a pigsty!"_

_she would yell, while disgustedly, rearranging his room faster than a whirlwind, though leaving order rather than destruction in her path. _Ray shook his head, Raine already took up a small portion of his brain, lecturing him when she wasn't even there.

Oddly enough, he recalled, he planned something with her today... what was it again? As he pondered upon this mystery his younger sister burst through the door, "You're late for sparring match with your girlfriend!" she called in a singsong voice, "Don't get beat up too bad!"  
>"Lisa, how many times do I have to tell you, she's not my-" he hesitated as realization hit him. "I'm late! Raine is gonna kill me!" He dashed out the door with his gear bag, which he had hastily thrown together. In a few minutes he passed by the park, which was marked by a bunch of yellow tape with "POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS" printed on it. <em>What did Raine do now?<em> His musings were cut off as a pale girl was carried into an ambulance, her dark hair was splayed across her face. "Raine!" he yelled, ignoring the police line and running to the paramedics. He was cut off by an indignant police officer.

"Buddy! What part of "do not cross" don't you understand? I could arrest you right now!" he threatened.

"Sir this is my best friend, I NEED to know if she's ok." he begged.  
>The officer still looked sceptical, "How do I know you're telling the truth, and not some pushy onlooker who wants to get a scoop?"<br>"Her name is Raine Kageichi. She loves chocolate and instant ramen. Her birthday is on the ninth of September. She's a black belt in mixed martial arts. Her dad left when she was nine. She hates tomatoes. She loves animals. And she lives by strict moral code and is hardheaded as they get. " He explained blushing slightly. If Raine had heard his description, she would have kicked his butt, even though she knew said description hit the nail on the head.  
>"Whatever..." the officer replied, checking the information on the card, he nodded, "Yeah, its pretty damn accurate, but still...ah fine, take care of your girlfriend," he winked.<br>Too worried to catch the joke, Ray jumped into the back of the ambulance, holding Raine's hand gently.

He remembered how six years ago the same thing had happened, only the other way around. Apparently she was so stubborn she wouldn't move outside of his room for two weeks. It was a good thing the room had a bathroom, or he was sure she wouldn't have bothered to shower. After the two weeks he cracked an eyelid and realized that he was in a hospital room. Raine had fallen asleep on his arm snoring lightly. After, shaking her awake she tackled him in a bear hug and proceeded to give him an earful of how reckless that was and how worried she had been.

After stitching up the various gashes in her body and bandaging her head the doctors told him to go home. But like Raine hadn't six years prior, he didn't move an inch. Eventually he passed out, holding her hand.

Ray resolved that he shouldn't have eaten the cafeteria food, a nurse, Iris, brought him. He was having the strangest dream of his life. Standing on a raised platform was a demon look-alike, with an indignant looking girl yelling at him in various languages. It was Raine!  
>"Raine, what are you doing here?"<br>"Son of a-! Panda, what are _you_ doing here?"  
>Lucifer scowled, "Apparently he found his way in, though this is rather troublesome. Only one way to deal with this..."<br>As he raised his trident, she growled. "Don't you dare! You can't touch him remember? That deal you made me make six years ago prevents you from hurting anyone I love." She shielded Ray with her body.  
>"What? Why? Why did you-?" Shock flitted across his features as he realized the magnitude of her decision. She had decided to spend eternity in purgatory to save him and her family. "But why?"<br>"The reason I struck that deal was to ensure that no one important to me could ever get hurt like that again. As long as the people I cared about were safe and happy, everything would be okay." The gleam of fire was back in her eye's again. "Whatcha gonna do now?" she spat at Lucifer, who was currently clenching his fists so tightly, black blood spilled down from his palms.

"Don't be naive, I still posses your soul and livelihood," he countered. Swifter than humanly possible he appeared behind her, holding the scythe to her neck.

"Love always makes me sick," he spat, pressing the scythe to her neck. "Nothing more than illusions that are just the beginnings of lust." He grinned darkly, sending a shiver down Ray's spine. "I'll tell you what, boy, I'll let you run my seven trials. Each trial consists of a test who's theme consists of one of the seven deadly sins. If you can pass those, I'll give you your little girlfriend back. If not you'll probably end up trapped here. Deal?"

"Ray don't you da-!"

"Fine, but don't think I'll lose!"

"Ray, stop! Aishte-!

"Good luck, you'll need it!" Lucifer cackled, disappearing in a theatrical cloud of black smoke.

_Seven Deadly Sins? Wasn't that a myth? Something about the nine circles of hell?_ Ray thought bemused. _Oh that's right! That myth Raine was lecturing me about to pass English!_

_"Ray!" she chided, "You need to read your summer reading, or Mrs Watanabe will kill you!" They were sitting in the air-conditioned library, at a worn wooden table, where countless students had studied. A battered hard-cover copy of "The Divine Comedy" rested on the table, the two teens locked in fierce debate, the occasional passerby giving the duo a curious glance._  
><em> "I can wing it, it sounds boring," Ray grumbled. A resounding smack was heard throughout the building as Raine tapped him none to gently, on the back of the head.<em>

"_I don't want to hear it! Now shut up, and I'll review the book with you!" she snapped, going into 'business mode'. She pulled out a piece of paper and drew three big circles on it. _

"_There are three levels, the main character 'Dante' goes through," she explained. Pointing her ball-point pen at the lowest circle, "This is hell, which is in itself, pretty self explanatory. The other two are purgatory and heaven," she continued, gesturing to the other two circles, "but Dante's Inferno focuses specifically on the hell realm." Taking out another piece of paper she draws nine circles, each one drawn within another. _

"_Now, there are seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride. Each of these sins have a specific punishment in a specific part of hell, in addition to a couple others, like treachery and fraud. But to narrow it down let's stick with nine for now."_

_Ray groaned, "Can we do this tomorrow? I'm hungr- ow!" he whimpered as she proceeded to smack him over the head with the book. _

"_No! Now be quiet and pay attention!" she snapped, earning a chorus of "shh"s from the librarians. "There are nine circles of hell that Dante passes through with a companion called 'Virgil'. The first is Limbo, which is basically purgatory, for the unbaptized and pagans. The second circle is Lust, which is self-explanatory along with Gluttony, Greed, and Anger." She labeled the circles, working inward. _

"_Now the last four are Heresey, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery but I'll give you a break for now," she said, labeling the remaining circles and handing him the drawing._


End file.
